Blog Tour ~ The Devil’s Hand Series by S. Zanne ~ (Excerpt, Trailer + Giveaway)
Title: The Devil’s Hand Series
Author: S. Zanne
Genre: Gay Romance, Paranormal
Length: Short Story + Novella
Length: Short Story + Novella
Publisher: Wayward Ink Publishing
DRAWING DEAD
Devin endured Hell for a long, long time and has come out literally a changed man. Now a demon, he hunts for the one thing that can make him remember something of what it was to be human—however unfortunate that might be for his prey.
He stumbles upon James Goodman, who tugs at the nearly extinguished memories. The pair enter into a relationship that evolves into something more as Devin grooms James for his pleasure.
Though Devin is a demon and James merely human, who holds the power in their relationship is in question, and, in the end, who holds the winning hand may surprise them both.
Months later, Devin is imprisoned and James remains reluctant to face him. Torn and conflicted, he’s still reeling from the experience of living at the side and in the bed of the man his family has spent several lifetimes hunting.
James tries to find solace in the bosom of his family, but it leaves him dissatisfied and wanting, unable to fulfill the newly born cravings even he's not sure he understands. Finally forced to serve his stint as Devin's jailer, James returns to the place of Devin's imprisonment, only to find his confusion grow with every day he spends with Devin.
And Devin may not be entirely out of cards.
Unbeknownst to the Goodman family, Devin’s influence extends far beyond the ten- by twelve-foot room in which he's confined.
James comes to the realization that perhaps his great-grandfather's plan hadn't been for the family to save Devin after all, but instead to repay a debt owed—a soul for a soul.
Excerpt – Ace in the Hole
James made another strangled sound, the bottle held protectively in front of his groin as if to ward off the creature that beckoned him. At that noise, Devin came, the thick fluids coating his hand as his tensing muscles were carved fully polished from the shadows like some sort of marble statue, an artist’s vision of the perfect male form—beautiful to look at it, able to make anyone’s heart resonate with wonder, but still just a thing, entirely lacking a soul.
Devin never said a word.
Once he was finished, Devin gracefully rose to his feet, padding his way with seductive ease across the worn floors, his damp cock nestled in the vee of his thighs. He stopped when he stood face to face with James, mere inches of space with miles of meaning separating them from each other through the clear glass wall.
James swallowed, the sound audible even with the barrier between them as he tried to keep his eyes off the temptation of Devin’s naked form. “Why?” he managed to squeeze out from his tight throat, the word tearing its way from him. “Why are you doing this to me?”
Devin reached out, his expression soft in the thickness of the night, and stroked his come-wet fingers across the glass as if tracing the delicate arch of James’ cheek.
James leaned forward just a little, as if pressing into the touch, almost feeling the ghostly fingers brushing over his flesh even as his tongue watered for the salty taste of it, and he shuddered at the memory of the sensation he had felt so many times before. “Why?” he asked again, his voice no more than a whisper.
Devin smiled, soft and sweet, his voice spilling like music through the night. “Because I can.”
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We have Devin, the demon who is unlike other fictional demons I have read about, in the sense that he truly seems to get off on inflicting pain and suffering and basks in the anticipation of when he'll be able to hurt and or kill others. He's dark, manipulative, a dangerous predator and while in some cases this could have been appealing, I found him more or less appalling. Maybe the point of the story was lost on me, maybe it went over my head. I might be unique in how I perceived the tale but in my opinion it's important to go into this one with your eyes open.
I will give credit for the actual writing because for the most part I felt it was good. The author definitely does not lack imagination and that's evident. However, I didn't care for the flipping between past and present. I was confused quite a bit and it pulled me further from the story.
I'm not entirely sure I would recommend this book. However, I stand by my earlier statement that others may enjoy it much more than I did. The premise itself was intriguing, I just didn't care for how it played out as a whole. S. Zanne is a talented and imaginative writer, so with that in mind I'm going to bump up my rating from 2.5 Stars to 3 Stars!
***A copy of this book was provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review***
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About the author
Call her ZANNE. She lives in beautiful, sunny Southern California, which is ironic since she tends to avoid the sun like it might incinerate her on the spot. While her colleagues often refer to her job as zookeeping, the technical title is actually middle school teacher. Misfit Prophets Beneath a Bankrupt Sky was her first published novel and her short story “Persephone Is Bleeding” was published in the Hungry Hearts anthology with Inkstained Succubus Press.
S. ZANNE can be found at:
Website: http://lvfp.tripod.com/zanneiam/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zanneiam
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